Learn to make the BEST Restaurant Style Paneer Butter Masala at home in just 30 minutes. Serve with Indian Cumin Rice or Plain Naan Bread for a delicious meal combo. 100% approved by friends and family!
A rich, creamy tomato-based curry made with soft paneer cubes and no onions—just fresh vine tomatoes, butter, cream, and warming spices working together to create that classic restaurant-style flavour.
Scroll down for ideas on what to serve with it to build your own Vegetarian Indian-style thali!
I’ve made this Butter Paneer Masala at least a hundred times—and it’s still the most popular recipe I make. It never fails! I even served it as part of an Indian Thali at the ASDA Diwali Supper Club, and all 30 guests said it was the best they’ve ever had.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love this Paneer Masala
- How to make Paneer Butter Masala Step by Step
- Expert Tips
- Why not serve this Butter Paneer Masala as part of a Homemade Indian feast, including:
- Storing Leftovers
- Recipe FAQ's
- Love This Curry, You'll Also Love These Paneer Recipes
- Paneer Butter Masala Recipe (Restaurant style)
Why You'll Love this Paneer Masala
- Quick and easy to make. It takes only 30 minutes from scratch and tastes better than the ones from your favourite Indian restaurant or Takeaway.
- Curry for every occasion - It’s quick enough for a weeknight but special enough for guests too.
- Freezes well - Curry can be made in advance, is great for batch cooking, and freezes really well.
How to make Paneer Butter Masala Step by Step
Preparation of Butter Masala Gravy
- Heat 2 tablespoon of butter and oil in a deep saucepan. Add red chillies, ginger, garlic, and saute for a minute.
- Tip in cashew and saute for another one minute.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and stir.
- Cover and cook the tomatoes until they are soft. This takes about 5-6 minutes.
- Turn off the flame and allow the tomato cashew nut mixture to cool down.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend into a smooth tomato puree.
Make the Butter Paneer Masala
- In the same pan, heat the remaining butter and add bayleaf and cinnamon stick. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the blended tomato puree,chilli powder, cardamom powder, coriander powder, salt & sugar.
- Allow this mixture to cook for 5- 6 minutes or until they slowly leave the side of the pan. Continue to stir when the gravy leaves the side of the pan.
- Add 1 Cup of water to the butter paneer gravy.
- Stir well and allow it to boil for 2 minutes.
- Add the paneer, garam masala, cream, crushed Kasuri methi and mix well.
- Cook for another one minute and switch off the flame.
- Garnish with cream, and fresh coriander, and serve hot!
Expert Tips
- Use Red Vine Tomatoes to make the gravy. If Vine Tomatoes are not available, you can use Salad Tomatoes or even Canned Tomatoes. But you must remember Canned Tomatoes can be tangy and you need to add a little more sugar to cut the tanginess.
- Cashew Nuts - Adds beautiful creaminess and body to this tomato butter gravy. You may choose to use Melon Seeds, Poppy Seeds, and Almonds as an alternative but they can vary the flavour too.
- Color - To obtain rich orange-red hue colour for this gravy, only use ripe red tomatoes. Some people do prefer to add food colour or paprika too to enhance the colour of the gravy.
- Cream & Butter - As the name suggests, Paneer Butter Masala uses butter (of course !) & cream generously. Don't be too skinny in adding them as both the ingredients are essential in imparting the creaminess and rich body to the gravy.
- Paneer - DO NOT Cook Paneer for too long after adding it to the gravy. It can turn rubbery and chewy by doing so. Soak the Paneer in hot water for 10 minutes, squeeze and then add to the masala.
- Process Smooth - Remember to blend the chopped tomatoes, cashew, ginger, garlic and chillies into a smooth paste. This has a great impact on the texture of the curry.
Why not serve this Butter Paneer Masala as part of a Homemade Indian feast, including:
- Soft, fluffy plain naan bread or yogurt flatbreads— perfect for scooping up all that buttery sauce
- Steamed white basmati rice or Indian yellow pilau rice to soak up every drop
- A side of crispy onion bhajis or spiced air fryer potato samosas for a crunch
- Refreshing cucumber raita or onion raita to balance the richness
This curry comes with plenty of sauce, so make sure to have enough rice or naan to enjoy every bite!
Storing Leftovers
- In the fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- In the freezer: Paneer Butter Masala freezes really well. I often make a big batch to enjoy later. Portion it into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 6 months. When ready, defrost thoroughly in the microwave, reheat until piping hot, and serve.
Recipe FAQ's
How to make Vegan Paneer Butter Masala?
It is absolutely easy to make Vegan Butter Paneer Masala (fondly know as PBM)using this same recipe with just a few substitutions.
In this recipe, simply replace Paneer with Tofu. Use Coconut Cream/ Cashew Cream for regular cream. Use Coconut Oil or Vegan Butter for Butter in the recipe.
How to Make Jain Paneer Butter Masala?
To make the Jain version of Paneer Masala, simply leave out garlic from this recipe, as this restaurant style recipe does not use any onion.
What Can I Use Instead of Cashew Nuts in this Curry?
Use almonds. Soak the almonds in hot water. Peel them and blend it with water.
Alternate Cheese to Use Instead of Paneer?
Halloumi Cheese or Tofu works great as an alternative cheese for PBM.
How to Make Instant Pot Paneer Butter Masala?
Add all the ingredients leaving the cream and paneer in the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 2 minutes. When the steam releases naturally, process the gravy smooth. Add Cream, Kasuri methi, Paneer, stir and serve.
Love This Curry, You'll Also Love These Paneer Recipes
Learn to make the BEST Restaurant Style Paneer Butter Masala at home. Soft paneer in a rich, buttery tomato sauce with cream and spices. No onions, full-on flavour, and ready in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
Ingredients for Paneer Butter Masala
- 250 g Paneer ( Indian Cottage Cheese )
- 5 tablespoon Butter
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 2 dried Kashmiri Red Chilli
- 1 " Ginger
- 4 Large Cloves Garlic
- 18-20 Cashew nuts
- 4 Large Vine Tomatoes Approx 550g
- 2 Bay Leaf
- 1 " Cinnamon Stick
- 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- 2 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Cardamom Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 3 tablespoon Cream
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Sugar
- 1 tsp Kasuri Methi
Garnish
- 3 teaspoon Coriander Leaves
- 1 Tsp Cream
Instructions
Preparation for Paneer Butter Masala Gravy
- Cube the Paneer and soak them in hot water for 10 minutes.
- In a deep pan, heat 2 tablespoon of butter and oil.
- Add red chillies, ginger, garlic and saute for a minute.
- Add cashew nuts and saute for another one minute.
- Add the tomatoes, stir. Cover and cook the tomatoes until they are soft. This takes about 5-6 minutes.
- Turn off the flame and allow the tomato cashewnut mixture to cool down.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend to a smooth tomato puree.
How to make Paneer Butter Masala
- In the same pan, heat the remaining butter and add bayleaf and cinnamon stick. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the blended tomato puree, chilli powder, cardamom powder, coriander powder, salt & sugar and allow this mixture to cook and slowly leave the side of the pan.
- Add 1 Cup of water, stir well and allow it to boil for 2 minutes.
- Add the paneer, garam masala, cream, kasuri methi to the gravy and mix well. Cook for another one minute and switch off the flame.
- Garnish with cream and coriander leaves.
- Serve hot Paneer Butter Masala curry with Naan Bread, Cumin Rice and Cucumber Raita for a complete meal.
Notes
Expert Tips
-
- Use Red Vine Tomatoes to make the gravy. If Vine Tomatoes are not available, you can use Salad Tomatoes or even Canned Tomatoes. But you must remember Canned Tomatoes can be tangy and you need to add a little more sugar to cut the tanginess.
-
- Cashew Nuts - Adds beautiful creaminess and body to this tomato butter gravy. You may choose to use Melon Seeds, Poppy Seeds, and Almonds as an alternative but they can vary the flavour too.
-
- Color - For rich orange-red hue colour in this gravy, only use ripe red tomatoes. Some people do prefer to add food colour or paprika too to enhance the colour of the gravy.
-
- Cream & Butter - As the name suggests, Paneer Butter Masala uses butter (of course !) & cream generously. Don't be too skinny in adding them as both the ingredients are essential in imparting the creaminess and rich body to the gravy.
- Oil & Butter - Use a combo of Oil and Butter together as this will avoid butter to burn and darken quickly.
-
- Paneer - DO NOT Cook Paneer for too long after adding it to the gravy. It can turn rubbery and chewy by doing so. Soak the Paneer in hot water for 10 minutes, squeeze and then add to the masala.
-
- Process Smooth - Remember to blend the chopped tomatoes, cashew, ginger, garlic and chillies into a smooth paste. This has a great impact on the texture of the curry.
Nutrition
Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 14.7g | Fat: 34.7g | Saturated Fat: 10.7g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 773mg | Potassium: 346mg | Fiber: 2.7g | Sugar: 3.1g | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
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Ayaps says
Nice and easy recipe to follow. Received compliments from wife.
Sandhya Hariharan says
Thats fantastic to know Ayaps your family enjoyed our easy paneer butter masala.
Maya s says
The best I have tasted! Even better than restaurant version! Thank you!!
Sandhya Hariharan says
So pleased to know Maya.
Terry says
Looking so yummy, will be making soon
Ruchi says
What brand masala you use it and what kind?
Sandhya Hariharan says
I do make Garam Masala at home or use Everest/ MDH brand Garam Masala.